2000
#2,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,719
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.83
Uncommon Last name
Whiting
A surname referring to a person with fair or white hair, complexion, or clothing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,467 Americans carry the last name Whiting. That puts it at #2,204 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,560 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whiting surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Whiting with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,560
Census rank
#2,204
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,104 bearers of the surname Whiting in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2204th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whiting, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Whiting
The surname Whiting originated from England, with the earliest known references dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be an occupational name derived from the Old English word "hwit," meaning white, and was initially used to refer to someone who worked in trades involving white materials or products, such as a bleacher or a whitener.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a certain Robertus Whyting is mentioned. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 also list a Thomas le Whytynge, indicating that the name was in use across various regions of England during that time.
The Domesday Book, the famous survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the name Whiting. However, it does mention several place names that may have influenced the development of the surname, such as Whitton in Lincolnshire and Whittington in Staffordshire.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name Whiting began to appear more frequently in various records, suggesting that it had become a well-established surname. One notable individual from this period was Robert Whiting (c. 1380-1460), an English theologian and the last Warden of the Grey Friars in London before the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.
In the 16th century, the name Whiting gained further prominence with the birth of John Whiting (1537-1599), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I for his involvement in the Babington Plot to assassinate the Queen and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.
Other notable individuals with the surname Whiting include Samuel Whiting (1597-1679), an English Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Lynn, Massachusetts; John Whiting (1617-1692), an English Puritan minister and one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut; and William Whiting (1825-1878), an English poet and novelist best known for his works such as "The World Beautiful" and "The Fireside Encyclopaedia of Poetry."
Throughout history, the surname Whiting has also been associated with various place names, such as Whittington in Shropshire, Whittingslow in Cheshire, and Whittingham in Northumberland, further reinforcing its English origins and connections to the concept of whiteness or light.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whiting
Among Census respondents with the surname Whiting, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Whiting bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Whiting surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.2% · 12,118
- Black or African American15.4% · 2,477
- Two or more races4.0% · 651
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 576
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 162
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 120
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whiting
Whiting appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,418
+699 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 5.57
Rank movement Down 105 places
2020
#2,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,104
-314 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 5.39
Rank movement Up 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,116 | 15,719 | 5.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,221 | 16,418 | 5.57 | +699 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 105 places |
| 2020 | #2,204 | 16,104 | 5.39 | -314 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 17 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Whiting surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,221 | #2,204 | 0.8% |
| Count | 16,418 | 16,104 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.57 | 5.39 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whiting bearers went from 16,418 to 16,104 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,221 to #2,204.
FAQ
Whiting surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whiting?
Name Census estimates that about 18,467 living Americans carry the surname Whiting. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,560 residents.
How common is Whiting?
Whiting ranks #2,204 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,104 people with the surname Whiting. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,467), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Whiting.
Has Whiting become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whiting went from 16,418 recorded bearers to 16,104. That is a decrease of 314 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,221 to #2,204.
What does the Census say about the background of Whiting?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whiting, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Whiting in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.2% (12,118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whiting appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.2%), Black (15.4%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Whiting (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Whiting mean?
A surname referring to a person with fair or white hair, complexion, or clothing. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Whiting (5.39 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Whiting?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.